Recently I’ve been on a renewed kick to get back in shape.  W- and I are both doing paleo (although mine is a modified version because I refuse to completely give up dairy and the occasional Dr. Pepper), and I’ve started taking yoga during the week and have made more of an effort to get outdoors and hike on the weekends.  To that point, I was looking for some new, different things to do and I came across an announcement that Radnor Lake’s new aviary is now open on Wednesday mornings and Saturday afternoons.  Intrigued, I set out after lunch to take a look.

The hike from the East Parking Lot to the Aviary isn’t very long (a little over .5 miles), but wow is it steep!  I refused to stop along the way, though, because from personal experience that’s always a terrible idea momentum-wise.  The good news is, though, that it was completely paved and easy to navigate, so there’s that.

The aviary itself isn’t completely finished – a park ranger told me that they’ve got the paperwork in with the federal government to get some more birds, but until then they have a bunch of empty enclosures before you come to the black vulture and the bald eagle.  The bald eagle really is the star of the show – everyone on the boardwalk aviary with me were all mesmerized, quietly whispering and snapping photos.

Back at the other end of the boardwalk in the Barbara J. Mapp Aviary Education Center, the walls are surrounded with tanks filled with snakes and turtles, and a ranger was giving a talk next to a wide-eyed great horned owl.

Overall, it was a really fun experience and I’ll definitely be back when the new birds arrive 🙂